Mentoring for - Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants

CLIMBING
OUT OF A
SOCIAL RUT
It’s not just what you know, it’s who you know that matters,
says the adage. Successful accountants tell Robin Lynam
how careers can be boosted with a little networking ability
Illustrations by Alan Ho
In accounting, as in all professions,
those who rise to the top tend to be
those who are good at their jobs.
That, however, is seldom all there is
to the story.
Successful professionals have usually
managed to build up a broad-based network
of contacts and connections, many of
whom have been instrumental in helping
them serve their clients, build their profiles
and enhance their reputations.
Of course, people who are merely good
networkers will not advance far as Hong
Kong Institute of CPAs members unless
they are also skilled professionals. How-
ever, there are probably more than a few
skilled accountants who are at a career disadvantage
because they are not also skilled
networkers.
“The accounting profession has a very
disparate range of services and a broad
range of people who are involved in that
space, some of whom are more introverted
by nature and others who are more entrepreneurial
and will be out every day
building connections,” says Keith Pogson,
a managing partner at Ernst & Young and
immediate past president of the Institute.
Pogson sees networking as an essential
part of social and professional life, and points
out that those two areas often overlap.
Some people, however, are naturally
better at it than others. “From experience,
accountants are generally singularly poor
at structured networking,” adds Rupert
Purser, a board member of the Asia Transformation
and Turnaround Association, a
group of professionals from business, law,
banking and accounting with a focus on
corporate restructuring.
Purser, an Institute member, says creating
opportunities for members to mingle
through social events, seminars and discussion
groups is a major focus of the association.
“Accountants at large interna-
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